Dying flowers
by TheNightsWithSalem
Summary: What happened to Mirania before joining the mercenaries's group? A short tale about her and the last moments she spent with the Guardian that has been her mother.


_**As my first submission, I chose the fan-fiction that I consider the best among the ones I wrote until now. This and all my future works are mirrored by my DeviantArt account, in which I post some awful fan-arts too. Forgive my pitiful english...**_

 _ **Ah, I also tried to put space between paragraphs, but for some strange reasons the site erase them each time, so I used the big line...**_

 _ **UPDATE: I did some fixes. Thank you again Therius ;-)**_

* * *

After thousands of years lived to guard in her forest, even Tilia had been reached by death, like many of her comrades.

The end of living things was a natural event in the course of their existence, but Tilia was a Guardian, and as such her disappearance was not planned.

For years she had tried to resist, to recover. But now it was clear that her efforts had been in vain. The disappearance of so many of her fellows had destroyed the balance of the world and soon her death would have worsened the situation even more.

How long it had yet available the world before losing any chance of salvation? An year? Maybe ten? No one could say for sure.

Slow and inexorable, the plague that hit the Guardians would erase all life. Some would endure longer than others, so inheriting the task of the fallen, but at that point would have been the excessive effort to inflict the final blow.

Tilia completely forgot when this had begun, but the case – or fate, who knows? - had given her one last card to play, a chance for the future, and she had every intention of exploiting it to the fullest. Appealing to the vestiges of her immortal force, she advanced along the forest and following the only road that she still could remember, she reached the centre of her domain.

The large grassy area in front of her was enclosed in a circle of stone monoliths. Five were on ground for centuries, broken by time and covered with vegetation, but the three furthest still resisted. Above her head, the trees formed a vault like a green cathedral, and the light filtering from it even more accentuated the impression of being in front of a sacred place.

Reached her destination, Tilia fell on her knees in the middle of the stone circle.

She had little time left. With a sigh, she looked up and expanded her conscience, infusing it in every leaf and splinter of wood of the forest. When all that was left of her dominion was connected to her mind, she summoned the one that in the last sixteen years had become her daughter and last hope.

 _Mirania, come to me..._

* * *

At the end of the cave that served as her home, Mirania opened her eyes. Tilia was calling her. She tried to answer, but the other had severed contact with her mind, giving her just enough time to figure out where she was calling from: the centre of the forest. Pulling up from the bed, the girl noticed the warm, orange glow of the fire in the fireplace on the opposite wall of the cave. It was very strange, because usually that fire was lit only when preparing medicinal infusions for their neighbors farmers, beyond the borders of the forest, or in winter to light their place.

She jumped up and walking around the table she advanced in the short tunnel leading out of the cave.

The sun had just risen, and although the spring had already begun, the air was still biting as on winter mornings. She ignored that much. Although she was human, the time she lived with Tilia had made her more like a Guardian, more resistant to the forces of nature, and only the chill of winter could force her to wear something more than her flowing white dress.

She stepped outside and saw that something was wrong.

In that time of the year the meadows of the forest had to be dotted with wild flowers,especially those beautiful white blossoms that only Tilia could conjure up from the earth. But nothing, only weeds and a few sick flowers.

 _Yet I saw her wandering around the forest and give strength to the plants. Why didn't it grow anything?_

She decided to ask Tilia directly some explanations, after all she called her and that had to count for something. For a moment, an improbable optimism pervaded her and she thought that the other had done in on purpose to teach her the magic that Tilia had always refused to share with her.

"The Magic of Healing is the only thing on which you need to focus on for now" she told her every time they touched the topic, "Creating life, even of a simple flower, is a tricky business, especially for a still fragile creature like you. For now, it's better if you learn only how to preserve it"

Mirania was young, there was no doubt about this, but not stupid, in fact she dismissed that hope immediately. Something bad was about to happen, she was sure.

When she came to the circle of monoliths, she realized that her suspicions were correct. At the centre of the circle, Mirania found the woman who had brought her up. In all those years spent in the forest, she had always known that Tilia wasn't human, although to grow her she had taken the form of a woman with long, grey hair and a regal looking, despite the peasant clothes.

Now, however, the woman was gone, and before her she saw the Guardian of the forest.

It was huge, high twice her even though it was on its knees and shape vaguely human. The skin looked like grey stone, its long arms were thick as tree trunks, with big hands with only three fingers. They had no claws, but still gave the impression of being able to easily pierce the flesh, if only the Guardian wanted to. A dense network of growths similar to the horns of a deer was sticking up from the head and neck, and stretched back intersecting each other and creating around its shoulder a forest in miniature, but almost devoid of leaves. The subtle emerald eyes on its face without features were the only colour on that being, in addition to the withered leaves on the horns.

The being seemed very tired and when she came up, it turned its head toward her.

"There you are, Mirania" Tila said. Its voice had become indefinable. In its true form it had lost any distinction between male and female: now it was only the Guardian.

Mirania had already seen its real appearance and heard its own voice, but the one with which it addressed her now seemed almost a whisper compared to the mighty wind of her memories.

"Tilia, what's happening? Why did you call me?" she asked hesitantly.

The Guardian was silent. While waiting for an answer, Mirania noticed small cracks that opened on its body. Small fragments of skin, perhaps even meat, broke away were caught by the breeze and they began to twirl in the air like dried petals. The body of the Guardian was crumbling.

In confirmation of what she was seeing, Tilia answered her question.

"I'm dying, Mirania"

Those words hit her like an avalanche.

"I-it's impossible!" the girl replied after a short hesitation. "You told me that the Guardians cannot die!"

"Yes, in fact I though so too, but apparently I was wrong. We Guardians are the personification of life and for that we should be eternal, however, something has changed. Our strength is lost, the memories fade away and unfortunately there seems to be no remedy" the Guardian concluded sadly.

Mirania didn't accept what Tilia was saying, even though she knew it was the truth. She tried to comfort the Guardian, offering to use the Magic of Healing to make it feel better or to prepare a medicinal herbal tea.

Tilia leaned toward her and stroked her face.

"Thank you, but we both know that it will not help anything."

Its face had no features, however Mirania was sure it was smiling in an attempt to comfort her. To the inevitable, she began to feel her eyes fill with tears, but she forced herself not to cry.

"There must be something I can do..." she said, her voice cracking.

"Actually, there is one thing."

With kindness, Tilia took her and walked over to it so that they could look into the eyes each other.

"You know" Tilia began "that beyond the borders of this forest live many human beings like you. Among them, there are some scholars, that to live transcribe the events of the past so that they are remembered. Now I am too weak and my memory is almost entirely lost, but maybe they know what I have forgotten. This is what I ask you: when I'm gone, leave this forest and look. Look for someone who knows the past and find the origin of this plague that is exterminating the Guardians."

Mirania thought about that and when she included the implications, she decided to ask:

"Did you know early on that you were dying, right?"

When the Guardian nodded, she couldn't help herself, and for the first and only time in her life she snapped against it.

"Why do not you tell before? Maybe I could do something to help you right away!"

"I thought to be strong enough to survive this plague" Tilia explained patient "and you were still too young: even now your powers, as strong for a human being so young, are not enough to make a difference. Believe me, I didn't mean to hurt you, but unfortunately I had no choice: reveal the truth would be to part from you, trust you to your kind, and I wasn't ready to let you go. Not even now I am."

Its tone had become more and more sad as it answered.

Mirania listened in silence. She wanted to shout against it, reproach it something, but she knew all too well not to have valid arguments for doing so: as lonely and separated from her kind, her life with Tilia was happy and perfect, unlike most of the other human beings. Only the Guardians were aware of the secrets of the forest and she was the only human that was made to share them, and living as one of them she never suffered the cold or hunger, and had learned ways of magic that only her was now able to exploit. Not to mention that in reality she was never really alone. Every plant in the forest, from the smallest bush to the oldest oak, had watched over her, holding company with their secret voice, heard only by the Guardians.

In other words, she owed too much to be able to complain, and what it was asking not seem anywhere near enough to repay.

"Do you think to discover the origin of this thing can help us to cure you?" that was all she managed to say, when she decided to speak again.

Tilia shook their huge head, dropping a few leaves from its horns.

"For me it's too late, but perhaps we can save other Guardians. If we could figure out what triggered everything, we would have some more chance to stop it."

"I see" she nodded sadly.

Mirania grabbed one of the big hands of Tilia between her and held it closer as she could. She couldn't believe that she wouldn't see it again.

"Now we have to say goodbye, right?"

"Yes" the Guardian replied "but first there is one more thing I have to do."

Tilia slid aside and asked her to put in its place at the centre of the circle of monoliths.

"To ensure your survival and prevent the scourge to hit you too, I will have to break the bond that unite us" it said "So far you grew influenced by my power, but now you'll lose the ability to feed you with sunlight, to withstand frost, to hear the voice of the trees and you will return to be fully human. Unfortunately you have lived so long under my influence that I fear that your body will suffer some repercussions. At the beginning it will be hard, I know, but I've already made arrangements with our farmer friends, so you can get help from them. Also you are very handy for the magic and this will definitely help."

At that point Tilia drove a finger in the ground, and when the Guardian pulled it out a plant grew instantly form the hole. Large serrated leaves of a pale bluish grey fanned around a long thin stem. A bud formed on the top and when it opened, six long, white petals with a blue heart stretched to form a cup. While the plant continued to branch out and expand on the ground, Tilia gently pulled the first flower and with the severed tip of the rod it touched Mirania's forehead, leaving eight drops of blue sap in a circle.

"With this seal I not only break our bond, but I will grant you the Domain of Nature – yes, the magic that I always refused to teach you – . It will not be easy for you to learn how to use it without my guidance; for the moment it will be just a seed, and it will be years before you can draw on its strength, but I know that one day you will make it, and certainly it will be useful."

When the Guardian finished, it ran its hand over the flower, which shone for a moment, and then put it through her long, black hair.

"I tied its essence to your seal, so it never fade away" it said "Consider this flower as my last gift to you, so that you can remember the affection with which I grew up you."

While the Guardian sketched out on the ground some symbols, topped by new white flowers, Mirania put her hand on her forehead, being carefully not to touch the still fresh seal. When Tilia taught her the Magic of Healing, it went step by step, subjecting her to small tests to see if she had some potential and finally started the real lessons. But now it wanted to suddenly pass her its power of Guardian...

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

"There's nothing to fear, now you're ready to welcome its strength" Tilia assured, although she didn't miss the anxiety in its voice, "The Domain will give you a chance to do many of the things that I can do, but it will not make you a Guardian: some abilities will always be precluded to you, but the most important thing is that you will be protected from the plague."

Mirania thought about that last detail. She was a mortal creature and so her existence would come to an end sooner or later, while Tilia would have to be immortal, rather than turn to dust before her eyes because of a mysterious plague.

The efforts of the Guardian to make her life as long as possible made her feel both grateful and guilty.

"Sorry" she began "maybe if you hadn't been forced to take care of me you could live longer and perhaps escape the plague."

Tilia stopped and looked at her intently. Shortly after, the huge amount of the Guardian leaned forward and gently hugged her.

"The plague can have me taken away centuries of memory, but I can assure you that the time I spent growing you up was the most beautiful of my life. My task forced me to hide in the eyes of humans, unless it was necessary to do otherwise. When I found you right here, a baby all alone in the centre of my domain, I didn't know what to do. But then you looked at me, and I realized..."

In the arms of Tilia, Mirania was assailed by memories: the first time she saw the fields beyond the borders of the forest, the encounter with their neighbors farmers, the first of magic lessons, the time when Tilia revealed itself as a Guardian making her share in its task...

Aware that delay the inevitable would have made them only to suffer more, the two parted and the Guardian began its final ritual. Mirania followed the instructions she received and began to play her part of the spell. While their voices overlapped, the signs and the flowers on the ground began to radiate a light that faded continuously from green to grey. The seal on her forehead began to burn. The air around her became increasingly hot and filled with sounds. The voices of all the plants of the forest began to resonate in her head to say goodbye. At one point, Mirania was able to "see" the bond between her and Tilia, a thread of luminous energy that sprang from their minds. As the ritual continued, the thread was getting thinner and when the two had finished to recite their spell, it broke.

Mirania felt a sharp pain in her head and had the sensation of falling abruptly. The rumours in her head fell silent one after another, leaving her alone with the Guardian. The sudden silence hit her like a punch and it was so strong and painful that she nearly fainted. Using all her strength, she managed to stay on her feet and saw what was left of the bond writhing in mid air and begin to wrap itself around her. When the wire coils tightened to disappear, she felt the magic within herself to change, as if there was something in her memory that she couldn't recall but she was aware of.

It was the Domain of Nature.

The ritual was performed, the light of the signs on the ground died suddenly and the flowers withered. She knew it had worked because she felt immediately the difference in her perceptions. She saw the forest around her, but she was no longer able to perceive the life that flowed into it.

And it was cold, so cold. Her dress had become too light to keep her safe from the air blow and her bare feet didn't seem to bear more contact with the damp earth, which now felt like ice.

Moreover, she also had another strange feeling that she never felt before, like the thirst, but much more aggressive.

Tilia too was exhausted by the ritual. In front of the girl, the Guardian propped on the ground to remain straight, with its arms trembling for the effort.

"It looks like I made it just in time" it murmured.

Mirania walked unsteadily. By now it was just before the end of Tilia, it was more than evident.

 _Did the ritual has accelerated the effects of the plague?_

Although their bond had been severed, the Guardian was able to guess what she was thinking and it assured that even if they didn't do the ritual, its life would still come to an end that day, and that in any case, the most important thing at that time was to guarantee her survival.

At those words, Mirania felt again the tears trying to escape her control, but the memories of its teachings on the links between living things and what she learned from the visits of their neighbours, helped her to resist and to accept the sacrifice of the creature she considered in all respects her mother.

It was natural to make similar acts for love.

She glanced to the branches of the trees above their heads. Apart from the silence, it seemed that everything was the same as it had always been, despite the Guardian dying.

"What will become of the forest? Will it die with you?" she asked.

"No. At least not right away. Its strength should last another few years, but eventually it will give in. The plants will dry up suddenly and become dust like me. And that's why I have given to you the Domain: if all the Guardians were to die, each forest or plant in this world disappear with us. What I gave you is a last resort, so that our power does not vanish entirely" the voice of Tilia grew increasingly tired "There are already some Mages that can use the Magic of Nature, but their powers are much more weaker than they think. If all the attempts to curb or overcome the scourge were to fail, then your task will be to pass on the Domain of Nature to the other Mages... uh, Mirania... you..."

Tilia suddenly slumped on one side. Its body had become so fragile that the impact to the ground opened many cracks in its skin. A cloud of splinters and dust rose from the Guardian and most of its horns were broken with a loud snap. Mirania ran at its sight. She wasn't read to lose Tilia. She tried to use her powers to heal it, but try as she might, the magic shining on her hands couldn't find a foothold on the Guardian's body. All the spells she knew were made to treat injuries, while its condition resembled more the lack of force of the old age, so it was something that she couldn't oppose.

She kept insisting to no avail, until Tilia used the little strength it had left to speak again.

"I-if our power vanished... the earth would die... even creatures... M-mirania, promise... search the source... s-save us."

"I will, I promise" she replied with a sob. She took in her hands the face of Tilia and hugged it. She heard the Guardian sigh at her touch and then it caressed her head with great difficulty. When shortly after Mirania lifted, she saw that the eyes of Tilia were two black stones without light.

The Guardian of the forest was dead.

Its body began to transform into stone before her eyes, while the cracks covering it were increasingly widening. Before it become a completely petrified block, Mirania closed its eyes and said goodbye with a whisper. At that point her emotions took over and she burst into tears.

* * *

She didn't know how long she remained slumped beside the body of Tilia, but when Mirania lifted, the sun was high in the sky and she was freezing as the wind had begun to shake the trees. With a sob, she looked at what was left of the Guardian. In that position it seemed almost to be resting and its stone face had a serene expression.

 _Because she saved me the same fate._

The wind began to blow and Mirania found herself trembling violently from the cold.

She didn't imagine that humans could be so helpless against the forces of nature. It took her a second to realize that her thought was wrong: she too was was a human being, just that until then she had lived differently. Now it was time to learn to survive as her peers, and the first thing to do was to get her something warmer. She left the circle of monoliths and after a last look at the place of her mother's rest, she went home.

She ran down the path through the forest, in an attempt to win the cold that was putting up and after few minutes she came exhausted to the cave, with her feet full of scratches. She staggered up to the table in the middle of the tunnel and drop into the nearest chair. She tried to breathe, but the chair broke in half shortly after, knocking her to the ground. Surprised and stunned, Mirania lay on the ground until the chills caught her again. When she was back on her feet, she looked at the remains of the chair and the other furniture in the cave. Each of them was a plant that Tilia had grown there and who had given a form that was functional to the needs of a pair of human beings, but now that the Guardian was dead they were losing their purpose and they withered at an unnatural speed.

 _Tilia has always done so much for me... and now everything will disappear._

Just few things seemed not to suffer that fate, and fortunately the thick blanket on the bed was among them. She took it and wrapped her self in it to warm up. She spent a lot of time before she stopped trembling, and as soon as she was ready, she began to gather other things still intact she needed. When she finished, she realized that she had taken all there was in the cave. A spare pair of clothes, the winter coat, the blankets, the knife for cuttings herbs and all the flasks with infusions. After further searching, she also found a pair of leather shoes in her size: a never used gift that she received a few months earlier and that it was become indispensable. Was it possible that up to that moment it took so little to live? And now that Tilia was gone, what would she do?

The Guardian had told her that it made arrangements with farm peasants just beyond the boundaries of the forest, but Mirania was sure that this could not be other than a temporary solution. In any case, she decided she would remain with them only for a short time, just enough to learn to live like a normal human being, then she would go on her way.

 _Yes, this is the best choice to meet the desire of Tilia. Soon I will be able to act without attracting attention, then I'll leave in search of the source of the plague. I must do it. I want do it._

It took a few moments to say goodbye to the house where she grew up. Within a few hours it would be nothing left to show that someone had lived in that cave. She felt a great sadness at the thought, but this brought back to mind one thing. At that point she began to feel the stones near the fire, until she found a side one that was only supported and took it off. Behind it, she found the compartment where Tilia kept the books it had used to teach her the Magic and reading.

Fortunately even those had survived its death.

Along with the books also she found some pens and bottles of ink. She put everything in the bundle along with the rest, leaving finally the thicker of the books. She leafed through it with affection at the though of the days spent reading it with Tilia. Then she had an idea.

She searched a completely blank page and when she found it at the end of the book, she tore it away gently. She pulled back out the bottles of ink and dipped a pen in the only one still usable. On one side of the paper she drew a Healing Signet as those who she ad learned from those books, then, when she was sure the ink was dry, she turned it and wrote on the other side a few words:

"In this cave Tilia lived with her daughter Mirania. May this place offer shelter and protection to the wanderers as it has done with us."

Satisfied with her work, Mirania placed another spell around those words, so that everyone who read them could exploit the effects of the Signet on the back. It would work only once, but that was fine.

She rolled up the paper, put it in one of the empty bottles that she had not taken and closed it well, then she took all her stuff. It was time to go.

She left the bottle with the message prominently in the entrance and once out of the cave she headed south, toward the borders of the forest. She calmly covered the distance, both to get used to the shoes and to pluck up courage. Every so often she had to stop and rest. The stomach cramps were more frequent and painful, but it didn't surprised her too much: she wasn't eating seriously by sixteen years after all. Once she arrived at the edge of the trees, Mirania stopped to observe the fields in the distance.

That day, for the first time in her life, she really saw the world outside the forest.

In front of her, a dirt road stretched to the horizon, but at the time her destination was much closer. The farm of her neighbors was right there, not far from the forest.

 _Don't worry, Tilia: I'll keep my promise. In one way or another, I will stop the plague!_

With the strength of that thought, she took a deep breath and made her first step toward her new life.


End file.
